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Ghana - See which newly elected leaders we can expect to steal the spotlight in 2013. — Naeesa AzizAfter successfully weathering the untimely death of President John Atta Mills in July, Ghanaian voters chose John Mahama to run the country for the next four years.   (Photo: Reuters/Luc Gnago)

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Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won re-election in the country’s national poll this October, securing a fourth term in office.  (Photo: AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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United States - In November, Barack Obama was re-elected president of the United States in a race that cost a record-setting $2 billion.  (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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France - France elected socialist politician Francois Hollande to the office of president this May, beating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, who served just one term in office. (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

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Egypt - After a tumultuous two years that saw the overthrow of former leader Hosni Mubarak, Egyptians elected their first post-revolution president, Mohamed Morsi, in June.However, in December, protesters called for Morsi’s ouster after he gave himself a set of widespread, controversial powers ahead of a constitutional referendum. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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Mali - Mali was scheduled to hold a presidential election this year, but in April, weeks before the national poll, rebel soldiers overthrew the government, promising elections that have yet to take place. Shortly thereafter, rebels handed power over to interim leader Dioncounda Traoré, who is now working to broker peace between the government and al-Qaeda-linked rebels who have invaded Mali’s north.   (Photo: Reuters/Malin Palm)

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Senegal - Macky Sall defeated former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade in the country’s March presidential election.   (Photo: Reuters/Joe Penney)

Photo By Photo: Reuters/Joe Penney

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Sierra Leone - Nearly one month after Sierra Leone’s presidential election, opposition party candidate Julius Maada Bio finally conceded defeat to incumbent Ernest Bai Koroma and dropped plans to boycott the government in defiance of the vote. (Photo: Reuters/Eric Thayer)

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Japan - Former prime minister and leader of Japan's main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Shinzo Abe won the country's Dec. 16 general election in a landslide. (Photo: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images

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Somalia - Somalia’s parliament elected Hassan Sheikh as the country’s president this September in the first presidential election in decades.  (Photo: Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

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Mexico - In a comeback victory for Mexico’s maligned Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), candidate Enrique Peña Nieto won Mexico's presidential election in July despite claims of corruption and election rigging. (Photo: Daniel Aguilar/Getty Images)

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Dominican Republic - Governing party candidate Danilo Medina won the country’s presidential election, besting former President Hipolito Mejia. (Photo: Reuters/Ricardo Rojas)